Pop on your history hats as we learn about one of Britain’s most famous historical figures – Queen Victoria!
Here you’ll find our top ten facts about Queen Victoria, who until very recently was the longest-reigning queen in history – beaten only by our very own Queen Elizabeth II!
1) Queen Victoria was born on 24 May 1819 in Kensington Palace in London, England. Her full name was Alexandrina Victoria.
2) Queen Victoria was born to an English father, Edward, Duke of Kent, and a German mother, Princess Maria Louisa Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfald.
3) Victoria became Queen of England in June 1837, when she was just 18 years old. Her coronation took place at Westminster Abbey a year later in June 1838, where everyone cheered “Long live the Queen!”
4) Did you know that Queen Victoria was a linguist? She spoke fluent English and German, and studied other languages, too, including French, Italian and Latin. Later in life, she also learnt the Indian language of Hindustani. Impressive, eh?!
5) Queen Victoria’s husband was Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha – her first cousin, who she married in February 1840. The royal couple first met four years earlier, a few days before Victoria’s 17th birthday party.
6) Victoria and Albert had a whopping nine children together – their names were Victoria, Edward, Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold and Beatrice.
7) Albert died in December 1861, when the Queen was 42 years old. The Queen never recovered from his death, and dressed in black as a sign of mourning for the rest of her life.
8) Ruling for over 60 years, Victoria would become the longest reigning British Monarch, and Queen of the biggest empire in history. During her time as Queen, the British Empire included Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and India.
9) There are lots of famous places and sites around the world named after this famous British Queen, such as the state of Queensland in Australia, Victoria Falls in Zambia and Zimbabwe, the city of Victoria in Canada, and Victoria Square in Athens, Greece.
10) After a long and eventful life, Queen Victoria died in January 1901, aged 81. She was buried beside her husband Albert at Frogmore Mausoleum near Windsor.
The life of Queen Victoria – in a comic!
Check out more Queen Victoria facts in this comic about her life…
